Data for the 2013 challenge consist of a collection of one-minute fetal ECG
recordings. Each recording includes four noninvasive abdominal signals as
illustrated below (Figure 1). The data were obtained from multiple sources
using a variety of instrumentation with differing frequency response,
resolution, and configuration, although in all cases they are presented as 1000
samples per signal per second.

Figure 1. Four simultaneous noninvasive fetal ECG signals, acquired
using electrodes placed on the mother's abdomen, containing both the fetal and
the maternal ECGs. The maternal QRS complexes (not marked) are larger than
the fetal QRS complexes (marked in blue). The figure is interactive; click on
the large blue circle to remove and restore the marker bars. Click on the Help
tab for information about other options.

In each case, reference annotations marking the locations of each fetal QRS
complex were produced, usually with reference to a direct FECG signal,
acquired from a fetal scalp electrode. The direct signals are not included
in the challenge data sets, however.

As in recent challenges, the data have been divided into three sets:

Learning (training) set A: includes noninvasive fetal ECG
signals, as well as the reference annotations for them (for participants' use
only; not used to score or rank challenge entries)

Open test set B: noninvasive signals only (reference
annotations withheld; for evaluation of challenge entries in events 4, 5,
and 6)

Note that the training data set (set A) does not include examples of all of the
sources included in the test sets. It will be necessary to design methods for
addressing the challenge that are sufficiently flexible to work with data that
have recording characteristics that are similar, but not identical, to those in
the training set. This feature of the challenge data is intended to encourage
participants to develop approaches that are compatible with the variety of
devices and signals encountered in clinical practice, and to allow us to
assess how successfully participants have been able to accomplish this goal.

Explore
training
set A and
test set B
using LightWAVE, our new waveform and annotation viewer. Sets A and B are also
available for downloading via links in the directory listing below.

set-a.tar.gz (initial set of 25 set A records),
set-a-ext.tar.gz (supplementary set
of 50 more set A records), and set-b.tar.gz (test
set B, 100 records): tarballs containing records in PhysioBank-compatible
format, for use with open-source WFDB
software from PhysioNet